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1228028

registered interest
date	27/07/2020
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Business: Human Rights
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that all firms based in, and selling products in, the UK comply with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in conducting due diligence on the impact of the products they sell.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL7321
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/08/2020 answer text <p>The Government supports the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights - the authoritative, voluntary international framework, which encourages businesses to conduct due diligence as part of their approaches to protecting human rights. The Government also drives transparency from our businesses to hold them to account on human rights. UK listed companies cover relevant human rights issues as part of their annual corporate reporting and our large businesses publish supply chain transparency statements according to the Modern Slavery Act, including on due diligence approaches where these are followed. In May, the Government published two policy papers which provide an update on what the Government has done to implement the UN Guiding Principles and to give an overview of how each government department contributes to this work.</p> answering member printed Lord Callanan question first answered 03/08/2020 15:29:56 answering member 4336 label Biography information for Lord Callanan
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1228029

registered interest
date	27/07/2020
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Climate Change Convention: Travel
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they are making, as hosts of COP26, to ensure that participants are able to travel to the conference in the lowest-carbon manner possible, including by (1) train from all parts of Europe, and (2) by sleeper trains.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL7322
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/08/2020 answer text <p>We will encourage all delegates to consider low-carbon travel options, such as rail, particularly those arriving from Europe. Rail travel within the UK will certainly be encouraged and we are in the process of developing a multifaceted transport plan that supports the delegate experience and has sustainability at the core.</p> answering member printed Lord Callanan question first answered 06/08/2020 11:13:38 answering member 4336 label Biography information for Lord Callanan
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1228030

registered interest
date	27/07/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Adoption Support Fund
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to set the Adoption Support Fund on a stable basis rather than making year-by-year announcements; whether they will consider lifting the cap for individual support above £5,000; and whether they plan to extend their support to respite care and psychological support for parents, on the same basis to that currently provided to foster families.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL7323
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/08/2020 answer text <p>The Adoption Support Fund provides funds to local authorities and regional adoption agencies to pay for essential therapeutic services for children who have left the care system either through adoption or special guardianship order. Since its launch in 2015, the Adoption Support Fund has approved £168 million to deliver support, such as therapeutic parenting, creative therapies, and specialist assessments to 59,000 families.</p><p>The government acted quickly to establish the Adoption Support Fund COVID-19 Scheme in April 2020, and has provided over £6 million to local authorities and regional adoption agencies to support up to 61,000 families to meet needs arising from the COVID-19 outbreak. The funding included support for activities, such as couples counselling, which would normally be outside the scope of the standard Adoption Support Fund.</p><p>On 17 July 2020, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced the 2020 Comprehensive Spending Review, which will set out the government’s spending plans for the next three years. The Comprehensive Spending Review will be published in the autumn. We will consider future funding, scope and fair access limits for the Adoption Support Fund as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review discussions.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 13/08/2020 15:24:20 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1228031

registered interest
date	27/07/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Working Hours
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to encourage and support firms in reducing working hours in an equitable manner while avoiding redundancies, on a model similar to the German Kurzarbeit scheme.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL7324
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/08/2020 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that people are able to return to work in a manner that is sustainable and adjustable to the reopening of the economy.</p><p> </p><p>The Government therefore introduced flexible furloughing from 1 July. Firms can now bring back employees that have been furloughed for any amount of time and any shift pattern, while still being able to claim Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme grants for the hours not worked, with no minimum furlough period.</p><p> </p><p>It is right that state support is slowly reduced and the focus shifts to getting furloughed employees back to work. As such, from August 2020, the level of the grant will be slowly tapered to reflect that people will be returning to work. Employees will continue to receive 80% of wages up to a cap of £2,500 when furloughed.</p><p>While other countries have announced similar schemes, the UK response remains among the most comprehensive.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 10/08/2020 14:32:13 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1228032

registered interest
date	27/07/2020
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	New Businesses: Remote Working
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to assist and support new small independent businesses to start up to cater for the needs of the increasing numbers of home workers across the UK.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL7325
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/08/2020 answer text <p>In the context of supporting employers during Coronavirus as the economy reopens, from 1 August Government will give employers more discretion on how their employees carry out their roles. We would expect employers and employees to discuss their working arrangements and the best way that roles can be carried out safely. Working from home is one way to do this, but workplaces can also be made COVID-secure using Government guidance if employers wish their workforce to return to the workplace.</p><p> </p><p>Regarding wider support for new businesses who wish to start up, or existing businesses wishing to scale up, all advice, guidance – including employee support, tools to identify the right finance, and checklists for setting up the business in line with regulations – is provided nationally on the gov.uk website, via the government-backed British Business Bank (BBB) online Finance Hub and in England through the network of 38 government-backed growth hubs.</p><p> </p><p>In England, small and medium-sized businesses that are adversely affected by coronavirus will have access to grants of between £1,000 - £5,000 (typical grant £3,000) to help them access new technology and other equipment as well as professional, legal, financial or other advice to help them get back on track. This will be available through the existing network of growth hubs, or where there is no growth hub in the area, via an existing ERDF business support provider.</p> answering member printed Lord Callanan question first answered 10/08/2020 15:08:10 answering member 4336 label Biography information for Lord Callanan
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1227907

registered interest
date	24/07/2020
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Royal Ordnance: Royalties
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they receive royalty payments for equipment manufacture by Sage Control Ordnance under licence from Police Ordnance Co Ltd in Canada where the equipment was originally designed by Royal Ordnance.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL7268
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/08/2020 answer text <p>The Ministry of Defence does not receive royalty payments for equipment manufactured by Sage Control Ordnance under licence from Police Ordnance Co Ltd in Canada, where the equipment was originally designed by Royal Ordnance.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 03/08/2020 11:44:11 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1227106

registered interest
date	21/07/2020
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	CDC: Tax Havens
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to prohibit CDC Group from investing in companies based in tax havens or linked to companies based in tax havens.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL7076
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/08/2020 answer text <p>There is no internationally recognised definition of a “tax haven.” CDC respects the tax policies of governments and supports their ability to tax. Whilst the development of domestic tax policy is the responsibility of governments, CDC requires its investee companies to approach tax is a responsible manner. CDC requires that: investee companies should be compliant, should not engage in base erosion and profit shifting, and should not engage in egregious tax planning.</p><p>Wherever possible, CDC invests directly into the country in which an investee company is located. If CDC invests through an intermediate country, it does so only if the country is compliant with international tax transparency standards as monitored by the OECD’s Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Tax information.</p><p>CDC’s policy on the payment of taxes and the use of offshore financial centres is available on CDCs website. This policy has been agreed with DFID and is reviewed annually.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sugg question first answered 04/08/2020 15:30:30 answering member 4584 label Biography information for Baroness Sugg
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1227107

registered interest
date	21/07/2020
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Northern Trains: Fares
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to allow off-peak tickets on Northern Rail services into Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford or Manchester to be used between 4.00pm and 6.30pm.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL7077
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2020 answer text <p>There are no planned changes to Northern’s off-peak travel requirements. In the current COVID-19 crisis, Northern has prioritised running a service for customers that is both resilient and reliable, rather than ramping up services too quickly or introducing measures that may lead to increased passenger demand and thereby exceed restrictions on social distancing.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Vere of Norbiton question first answered 31/07/2020 11:55:06 answering member 4580 label Biography information for Baroness Vere of Norbiton
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1227108

registered interest
date	21/07/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Health and Safety: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what role they expect the Health and Safety Executive to play in (1) breaking transmission chains, and (2) establishing what allowed the transmission of the virus, in respect of workplace outbreaks of COVID-19; and what, if any, extra resources they have provided to enable any such role.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL7078
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2020 answer text <p>Public health authorities lead multi-agency outbreak investigation teams and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has a significant role to play when a workplace is involved. HSE contributes information about the extent and effectiveness of infection risk controls in the workplace enabling the team to draw conclusions about likely infection routes.</p><p> </p><p>HSE is also carrying out proactive spot checks of workplaces to ensure that appropriate measures are in place to protect workers from COVID-19, and provides guidance on relevant COVID-19 risk controls for businesses and organisations on it’s website (<a href="http://www.hse.gov.uk" target="_blank">www.hse.gov.uk</a>).</p><p> </p><p>Establishing what allowed the transmission of the virus is a priority and HSE engages across government with Public Health England (PHE), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Food Standards Agency and the devolved administrations; sharing data and learning lessons. HSE’s Chief Scientific Advisor (CSA) is on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies and co-Chairs the Environmental and Modelling group which aims to provide scientific information on transmission in the built environment, which would include many workplaces. This group have been engaging with PHE, the Department for Health and Social Care and others to ensure that environmental considerations have been considered during outbreak management.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has made available up to an extra £14.2 million for HSE to support the provision of advice and regulatory activities. These funds will be drawn down throughout the year to bring in additional inspectors, call centre staff and equipment as required.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 30/07/2020 15:43:18 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1227109

registered interest
date	21/07/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide income and other support for individuals forced to self-isolate or find a safe place to remain during a geographically-defined or workplace-related COVID-19 lockdown.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL7079
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/07/2020 answer text <p>Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) has been extended to those told to self-isolate due to whole household quarantine, or due to the Test and Trace programme. The Government has taken additional measures to make SSP payable from day 1, not day 4 for these cases. SSP should only be paid to those unable to work, and those able to work from home should receive their normal wage. These changes apply in areas under local lockdown.</p><p>In addition to the changes to SSP, those living in areas of local lockdown can benefit from the unprecedented set of measures introduced by the Chancellor to help individuals affected by COVID-19. This includes the introduction of the Coronavirus Job Retention and Self-Employment Income Support Schemes, as well as the injection of an additional £9.3bn into the welfare system according to OBR estimates.</p><p>On accommodation, the Government recognises the challenges faced by many who are sleeping rough and it is committed to helping them. So far, over 90 per cent of those on the streets at the beginning of the crisis and known to local authorities have been offered safe accommodation.</p><p>The Government has provided £221m of additional funding for rough sleepers during the crisis, including £3.2m specifically to help those who need to self-isolate. This brings total support for rough sleepers in 2020/21 to over half a billion pounds. All local authorities in England will be able to benefit from these measures, including those under local lockdown.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 28/07/2020 15:44:41 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle